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Tuesday, February 05, 2008

Let the draft talk begin!

With the Super Bowl already a distant memory...football fans' thoughts turn to the NFL draft. Which, if you read our post here yesterday, was already part of the present discussion. In fact, we're also a poll through this month (righthand column, just below the PackerFansUnited.com shop link) asking what you think the Pack's greatest needs are. Be sure to vote.

Interestingly, at least if you are a hardcore fan, there are already mock drafts starting to pop up. This one at rivals.com has a mock first round courtesy of Frank Coyle of draftinsiders.com. Who does he say the Pack will pick at #30? Running back Felix Jones of Arkansas. He's an underclassman who, needless to say, ran in the shadow of that other Razorback RB -- and possible #1 pick -- Darren McFadden. Still, Jones carried the ball 133 times for 1,162 yards (8.7 yards average per carry) and 11 touchdowns. He also had 16 receptions for 176 yards. So, not too shabby for a #2 back. Doyle says this: "The Packers will look to address their backfield early in this deep class. Jones would give them an impact weapon in several roles." Doyle has Jones as the third back picked, behind McFadden and Illinois RB Rashard Mendenhall.

While Ryan Grant really distinguished himself after getting the starting nod, most of the other backs the Packers had on the roster either didn't have a chance to prove themselves because of injury, or just didn't pan out at all. As this season proved, you can never have enough running backs, and you never know which one will rise to the top.